My Storytelling Guides

4.5/5 ( ratings)

- My Guide to RPG Storytelling -

I’ve been role-playing all my life and I’ve run a lot of well-received campaigns. My players asked me what made my games work and this book is the result. This isn’t a rulebook for any gaming system, but it’s a how-to for my style of creating memorable NPCs, planning games, and engaging with your players.

Foreword by Erica Lindquist
Chapter 1: On Storytelling
Chapter 2: Before Your Game
Chapter 3: Building Your Story
Chapter 4: Running Your Game
Chapter 5: Players & Player Characters
Chapter 6: Problems
Chapter 7: Rules & Mechanics
Chapter 8: Setting & NPCs
Chapter 9: The End

- My Storytelling Guide Companion -

My players asked me how I ran my games and what made them work, so I wrote a book. Then they asked for specific examples and ideas, so I wrote another one.

This companion to My Guide to RPG Storytelling goes deeper into creating in-game crises, with lists of example scenarios and twists. The second half covers using voices, mannerisms, and archetypes to create NPCs, including some of the most memorable NPCs from my own games and what made them work.

- From Dream to Dice: Creating & Running a Role-Playing Game -

I’ve written two other books on my tricks and tools for running table-top role-playing games. But now it’s time to put those tools to the test – making an actual RPG campaign. Right here, right now, on the page. So let’s do this!

I’ll start with the seed of a story idea, go through world-building and character creation, then expanding that basic plot out into scenes, combats and crises. This is an up-close, behind the scenes look at how I make a game.

Then I’ll run the campaign for my group. The second half of this book details what went right, what went wrong, how I kept the game moving and my friends entertained.

From the dream that inspired me to the dice hitting the table, this is how I run an RPG.